PRO FOOTBALL: NOTEBOOK

PRO FOOTBALL: NOTEBOOK; Attitudes Make N.F.L. Look Twice Before Draft

By MIKE FREEMAN

Published: April 5, 1998

The two men could not be more different. The first, Charles Woodson, is one of the best athletes in the history of college football. A Heisman Trophy winner, Woodson played cornerback and receiver at a big-time football school, the University of Michigan.

The closest the other man got to a Heisman was watching the ceremony on television. He is Mitch Marrow, from the University of Pennsylvania of the Ivy League, a conference not exactly known for regularly producing great National Football League talents.

The differences between Woodson and Marrow do not end there. The perception of each man in the eyes of N.F.L. teams, now in the frenzy of sizing up talent for the April 18 draft, has changed drastically in recent weeks and is a perfect illustration of how workouts and off-the-field behavior can help a player, hurt a player, or both.

Woodson's workouts for N.F.L. teams -- the few he has attended -- have been described as ''out of this world'' by scouts, and unless there is a full moon on draft day, he will be a top 5 pick. But while Woodson has wowed N.F.L. teams with his ability on the field, they are saying less-flattering things about how he conducts himself off it. Known as a class act in college, Woodson has recently shown a more broodish side, team officials say.

The main thing teams point to is the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February. Woodson had interviews scheduled with several teams.

Personnel men and coaches use these interviews to get a feel for what the players are like. Woodson had an interview with the Detroit Lions, a team not even in a position to draft him. But to the amazement -- and anger -- of some team officials, that was the only interview he did.

Woodson canceled the rest of his scheduled interviews and disappeared from the combine. Why? He flew to New York to attend the National Basketball Association All-Star Game.

Teams were not happy.

What happened at the Walter Camp football award ceremony also did not help Woodson's image. For the event, he demanded first-class plane tickets from the foundation -- an organization devoted mainly to charity -- for himself and a small entourage of friends. Once there he refused to participate in many of the charity events, angering officials involved with the foundation.

Woodson is being called the Allen Iverson of the N.F.L. Iverson, a guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, is known for being moody and arrogant.

No matter.

There is almost nothing Woodson can do that will prevent his being drafted high. The Oakland Raiders will probably take him with the No. 4 pick.

But the combine and Walter Camp incidents raised a warning flag. Some teams began to check more thoroughly into Woodson's background.

In recent days, teams have called the N.F.L.'s security arm to see whether there was anything in its files about Woodson they should know. There was not.

Woodson, who is still deciding on an agent, could not be reached for comment.

What is being said about Marrow's personality is the exact opposite of what is being said about Woodson's.

Marrow, a native of Harrison, N.Y., has become one of the draft's most amazing stories. His rise began at the Senior Bowl, where the top players go for a week of workouts followed by a game. Marrow, an athletic defensive lineman, dominated the players he went against in practices and the game.

When scouts saw Marrow, they were amazed at his athleticism. When they spoke to him, they liked him even more.

''For the last couple of years, I've done well on the Ivy League level,'' Marrow said. ''I was going to the Senior Bowl hoping just to hold my own against the big boys. I think I surprised myself by how well I played against everyone.''

His workouts have astounded scouts. Marrow is about 6 feet 5 inches and 287 pounds. He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds, which is fast for a wide receiver, let alone a defensive lineman. He can bench-press 225 pounds 38 times and has a 38.5-inch vertical leap. Marrow also broad-jumped 10 feet 10 inches.

Marrow, recruited to Penn as a baseball player, was practically nonexistent in the eyes of N.F.L. teams only a matter of weeks ago. Now there is a good chance he may be drafted late in the first round. If that happens, it is believed Marrow will be the first Ivy League player to be a first-round selection since 1969 when the Yale running back Calvin Hill was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and the Columbia quarterback Marty Domres was selected by the San Diego Chargers.

But the Ivy League has seen its players rising in the N.F.L recently. Last year, Columbia's Marcellus Wiley was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Bills. Cornell's Chad Levitt, a fourth-round pick of the Raiders last year, will probably start at fullback next season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted defensive tackle Seth Payne out of Cornell in the fourth round.

''Right now, I'm not nervous,'' Marrow said. ''As the draft gets closer, I'll get more nervous. Most of all I'm anxious to play football.''

Slighted in New York

The N.F.L.'s Quarterback Challenge, a competition that pits the top quarterbacks against one another in various tests of arm strength and accuracy, will have some noticeable absences this time around. No quarterbacks from New York were invited.

How does Danny Kanell, who helped lead the Giants to a division title, not receive an invitation? Or Neil O'Donnell and Glenn Foley, who took the Jets from a one-victory season two years ago to playoff contention last season? Not to mention that O'Donnell played in a Super Bowl when he was with Pittsburgh.

Some players and coaches say the main reason they were excluded is politics, from the influence of some agents to personal dislikes of some quarterbacks and their coaches.

Some of the participating quarterbacks deserved their invitations. Steve Young, Brett Favre, Drew Bledsoe, Kordell Stewart, Mark Brunell, Jeff George, Steve McNair, Trent Dilfer and Elvis Grbac are all excellent choices. But some choices were questionable, such as inviting two players from the same team, Vinny Testaverde and Jim Harbaugh. Jeff Blake was invited even though he was benched last season.

New Name for Old League

Don't call it the World League anymore. N.F.L. Europe, formerly known as the World League of American Football, began its season this weekend with a series of games, including the England Monarchs and Frankfurt Galaxy in London today. The Monarchs and Galaxy played the league's inaugural game seven years ago.

The 10-week regular season will be followed by the World Bowl in Frankfurt, Germany, on June 14.

Photos: As the pros struggle to figure out Charles Woodson, above, who helped Michigan win the national title, Mitch Marrow (65), below, a Penn lineman, has impressed scouts. (Brian Bahr/Allsport)